White's Closes It's Doors After 50 Years

[azimuth2000]

I'm a die hard White's Electronics Customer and user and I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd see the day White's closed it's doors and sold out to rival Garrets. That is like selling the USA to Russia to me. I feel let down by White's after years of sticking by them. Garrets says they will service White's products but as for Whit's technology, I believe it will disappear under Garrets. Garrets may have the White's Intellectual property and right s to White's patents but it will in my opinion matter little as A Garrets Detector is not a White's and never will be.

[Tony]

Let’s be thankful that Garrett salvaged what they could from White’s. 

White’s didn’t “sell out” to Garrett. The White’s business model couldn’t be sustained financially for a number of reasons, of which some were likely beyond their immediate control. I’d prefer to celebrate the awesome machines they produced over many years and that will continue to find good stuff in the ground and water for a long time to come.

They were also in business for over 70 years which is quite remarkable for any company let alone one making “just” metal detectors.

[Hamid]

Garrett should produce some Whites MD. They were unbeatable and still.

All detectors in market miss gold.

Hamid

[V3i/MXT Pro]

TRX pinpointers, in excellent condition, sell on eBay for over $300. One would think Garrett would pick up on this and restart production. The TRX would complement the Garrett carrot as some prefer more/less depth in a pinpointer.

[Denny]

Foreign competition taking over.  
What’s keeping Garrett in business is the security products it sells.

[Steve Herschbach]

On 8/30/2022 at 10:30 PM, azimuth2000 said:

I'm a die hard White's Electronics Customer and user and I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd see the day White's closed it's doors and sold out to rival Garrets. That is like selling the USA to Russia to me. I feel let down by White's after years of sticking by them. Garrets says they will service White's products but as for Whit's technology, I believe it will disappear under Garrets. Garrets may have the White's Intellectual property and right s to White's patents but it will in my opinion matter little as A Garrets Detector is not a White's and never will be.

Sounds like you are stuck between a rock and a hard place then, because White's is dead and gone. You guys may think they were the greatest, and they were at one time. But they did not go under because they were making cutting edge products. They went under because they were not keeping up, and sales were suffering as a result. Anything else in business is just excuses.

Brand loyalty is kind of odd, because these companies are not your friends. You are nothing more than a source of income, a wallet to be targeted. Personally I think brand loyalty is counterproductive. It tells companies they get your money no matter what. No, they should have to fight for each and every sale, and we all should be willing to switch brands the moment it benefits us. It keeps them competing. What, we are going to hurt their little feelers? They will think we are not their friend anymore, and go cry? It all about the money people, never forget that. White's may have failed, but the people are all still alive, and have got on with their lives. Your choice is to either do the same, or stick with using a White's detector if that pleases you. But at this point, it's all old news, water under the bridge.

As for Garrett, their new Axiom puts the TDI to shame. They are going above and beyond where White's left off, and the fact they could afford to buy what was left of White's shows they know how to run a tight ship. Frankly, even that was to just keep the White's name out of the Chinese hands, as the tech that was left is not worth nearly as much as you think it was. Most patents have expired, and there was no super severe tech in V3i - it’s already been surpassed. If it was not for Garrett, you'd be buying official made in China White's detectors right now. Garrett has my thanks for not letting that happen. But don’t expect them to be all fired up to continue to make detectors that were not selling well, and which is largely obsolete by todays standards. Nobody succeeds in tech by looking in the rear view mirror.

That said, if there are Whites fans who want to continue to use and discuss the machines, this forum will be here as long as activity continues. White’s may be gone, but we are not! 

[brys]

shame but too many products and many old designs carrying a lunch box of mild steel on the back

[locator]

@Steve Herschbach-Couldn't have said it better, Steve. ?

[CoinShooter1]

Ive got an old Coinmaster TR with the 4B coil.

It was a great machine in 1975,  but its certainly not the first tool I grab these days!

Great company with a long history.